Thursday, August 29, 2013

We once took our mother to a new doctor and they chased us out of the office, saying, "Wait--here is her Fosamax prescription." She never had a bone density test that they saw, nothing--just take this.

These drugs are not Tic-Tacs!

I said heck no, and she lived on many years and never broke anything. The woman drank a quart of milk a day. She loved milk.

On http://reportingonhealth.org, Martha Rosenberg writes about biphosphonates--Fosamax, Boniva, and others.

One doctor thought wholesale prescribing of this could bring back "phossy jaw," which people in white phosphorus factories got 150 years ago.

Biphosphonate never completely metabolizes and leaves the body.

Yes, some women--usually Caucasian, thin--can have fragile bones. But these drugs suppress bone remodeling and after a time, bone formation is suppressed.

Look--I am not a doctor, but this is a big drug--talk to your doctor, don't just gulp it down.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

You guys know by now that I think we take too much stuff--too many vitamins, nostrums, herbs, over-the-counter stuff, prescriptions, prescriptions to head off or cure what the other prescriptions did to us, etc.

So when they approached me about Oral I.V., I first thought the name was...contradictory.

I said--sigh--OK, I will try it and if it doesn't make me nauseated or dizzy (my favorites), I will mention it. See what I go through for you people?

Well, my sister and I both tried it. The little ampules contain clear liquid that has no taste. Like distilled water.

Supposedly this contains "crystalloid electrolytes" that make cells more permeable to water--this is not a water substitute but an enhancer. You drink 16 oz of water with it.

They gave it to the military and law enforcement first and apparently the SEALs and others, such as Crossfit trainers, did unspeakable acts of endurance without getting dehydrated.

Studies are underway.

What do I think--well, it takes a little suspension of disbelief. But if you are a serious athlete--see what you think at www.oraliv.com. Four little tubes cost about $12. (Put url in your browser.)

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

According to Melinda Beck, WSJ, Seept 25, 2013, the medical system may combine the requirement that mental health services be provided as much as physical health ones with the shortage of trained mental health professionals--and create systems where psychiatrists and psychologists sort of oversee a doctor's patients with mental issues--but the doctor does the direct counseling.

Whew--what a sentence!

One Seattle psychiatrist has 500 patients--and is a consulting psychiatrist. She meets weekly with 10 "care managers" who follow the patients closely and record their records electronically.

The doctor devises the treatment plans.

They are keying this to the idea that mental and physical problems are often linked. About a quarter of primary care patients have a mental issue. Combining is called "integrative care."

Will this be most appropriate for areas with very few mental health professionals--or gradually required for all areas because it's cheaper for these new insurance companies coming into being?

Monday, August 26, 2013

I was going to write about how we are not prepared for a pandemic, and I thought, it's hot, August, why not something lighter--like becoming a horrible criminal?

The actor Samuel L. Jackson was on a dopey after-show they have for AMC's BREAKING BAD and said he came onboard the show from the beginning when Walter, who found out he had cancer, decided to put aside a nest egg for the family by cooking meth. Jackson said he admired Walter for taking things into his own hands. Yeah, like people's lives.

Walter is, of course, the "hero" or "antihero" (there seems to be little difference). Instead of leaving his family to bill collectors, he opts to bring psychotic assassins into their lives, destroy their relationships to him, devastate a young, aimless man looking for a "dad," blow things and people up, poison a child and let a young woman die before his eyes.

Good call, Walt.

Yes, this could be "unintended consequences," but the show's writers seem to delight in making us "root" for Walter and watch the show. I am no different--I watch.

But I know this is all a little perverse. If we think the country is turning into a road company of Lord of the Flies--BREAKING BAD may be bad for us.

Friday, August 23, 2013

When a car is "bumpin'," do you ever wonder if this will affect safety?

Ann Lukits writes about this in the WSJ--Aug 20, 2013.

An article in the Oct issue of Accident Analysis and Prevention said teens who played their own music had more traffic violations than those who listened to music selected by the researchers or to no music at all.

The study was done in Israel, 85 drivers around 18 years old, half male and half female, drove six challenging road trips of 40 mins in length. An instructor went along.

On two trips, they played their own selections--usually fast-paced vocals. On two more, they had easy-listening. And on the last two trips--silence.

In-car data recorders charted errors--and the participants were asked how they felt.

All 85 kids committed at least three errors in one or more of the trips. Seventeen of these required the instructor to brake or steer for them.

When the music was their own, 98% made errors. During the safe-driving music, 77%. But in the silence, 92% made errors.

More males made errors and more serious ones than the females. In playing their own music, they cranked up the volume.

Self-reported mood was better when it was their own music.

Conclusion? Yes, that blaring car might hit you or make a bad lane change.

But the researchers said with the unfamiliar cars, the instructors right there, this was probably the best driving the kids could do.

Yuh-oh.

I doubt you will get kids to put in an elevator music tape when they get in the car. They still sell Lawrence Welk, right?

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

We all know by now that the nosy parkers are going to be invading our health care. I had a new doctor's office ask me just yesterday for my Social Security number--why, are they going to pay me a salary? No! I said you don't need it.

But more insidious is this penalizing stuff--if you're fat, you get slapped with a higher premium. Smoker? Forget it!

A recent outrageous case was at Penn State, where, possibly to make up for all the money they spent on the Sandusky molestation case, they are heaping on the fines. One associate professor was docked $1200 because he would not fill out a health questionnaire.

Two thousand faculty members joined in the screaming!

Only 2% of employers use the "stick" rather than the "carrot" but this number will grow, I predict.

Also, recent studies show that forcing people into so-called healthy behaviors has no statistically detectable effect on health.

The faculty insists this whole gambit is to raise money for the university's Sandusky bills--though the school denies this.

What they don't deny is that employees must fill out a questionnaire from WebMD and undergo a preventive physical.

WebMD? Why do they get your medical records? This is getting wacky--tighten your seatbelt.

The child should arrive at the bus stop 5 mins before the bus, so no running in front of the vehicle. No horseplay--pushing in front of the bus (there is a huge blind spot). Also no going into the street to watch for the bus.

When boarding or leaving, kids should walk single file--no loose strings on sweatshirts or backpacks to catch in railings.

Sit facing forward, keeping the aisle empty.

Kids should not hassle or distract the driver.

When getting off--wait until the bus stops. If the child must cross in front of the bus, the child should wait until the driver signals it's OK. Kids should stay 5 giant steps in front of the bus to avoid the blind spot.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

My sister and I supervised our mother's care for 17 years, although she physically lived a few miles away in a certified group home.

But for some children of aging parents taking them into the home is a financial or emotional necessity.

In the Arizona Republic (Aug 8, 2013), Sonja Haller writes about younger people becoming certified nursing assistants or other forms of recognized professional to care for loved ones.

In Arizona, a fourth of residents will be over 60 by the year 2020.

Assisted living, much less nursing home care, costs more than $3,000 a month.

Home health aides who come into the home can run $3,800 a month.

So now some colleges offer home caregiver certifications. Family members learn to take vital signs, recognize diabetic and memory issues.

One said she had trouble calming her grandmother's agitation--she learned to refocus the woman's attention.

Others credit the training with their being able to communicate better with doctors.

But before you invest--think. Are you cut out for this? My sister and I have many pets--our mother hated animals. The constant repetitive conversations could get to us when we took her to the weekly hairdresser appts and had lunch with her each week. She got cranky. Also she never could stand cussing, but toward the end of her life, she cussed at us.

Her paid caregiver was not distressed--it wasn't her mother, she had never known Mom before all this happened.

If you are going to try it at home--know what you are getting into. Training would help.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Acai, the miracle humble blueberry, on and on--scientists rustling through the jungle looking for slammin' foods.

Laura Johannes, WSJ, Aug 6, 2013, says one of the newer entries, Pili nuts, a tasty Asian deal, are rich in nutrients such as magnesium, phosphorus and Vit E, but but are also packed with calories and saturated fat.

These live in the rain forests, or did originally, and have to be dried after being pulled out of a purple fruit.

A 5.3 ounce can will run ya $14.

So far they have not been shown to lower cardiovascular risk. Walnuts and almonds apparently do.

These sound like macadamia nuts to me--delish, but maybe a bit of a hype.I wonder how they taste in cookie form.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Groups include Thyroid Change, Thyroid Patient Advocacy, and the National Academy of Hypothyroidism. (Please Google these sites--because the aforementioned Google does not want urls on these blogs or some dumb thing I don't get.)

The thyroid gland (in the neck) regulates almost all other organs. If it is screwed up, you gain weight, lose hair, feel like crap, sleep a lot, and can be constipated and achy. A tenth of a percent to 5% of people in Western nations have problems, mostly middle-aged women.

Most hypothyroidism (underperforming) comes from Hashimoto's Disease, an autoimmune thing where the body's immune system attacks the thyroid.

The test is of TSH--Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. A higher TSH means more underperformance. But TSH can vary within a person, so sometimes an ultrasound and family history help pinpoint trouble.

The guidelines generally call for prescription levothyroxine, a synthetic version of the T4 produced by the thyroid.

Now some patients want a combo of synthetic and animal extracts (these contain T3 and T4). This stuff is called Dessicated Thyroid Extract (DTE).

In some--repeat, some--patients DTE can clean up remaining symptoms not handled by the traditional therapy. But--among other things--in one study, adding DTE did not add to quality of life.

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Distance doctorin' to the max! Two hospitals in the US and China are partnering up so Chinese patients can be operated on by US doctors in Texas.

The Shenzhen Peoples Hospital in China and the Methodist Hospital in Houston are going to cooperate on robotic surgery.

The Methodist Hosp already has four working robots and the Chinese hospital did its first robotic surgery in 2004.

Presumably this will be on one-off or difficult cases where the Texas doctor has more experience.

The surgery involves tiny, precise instruments that can wiggle into places human hands sometimes cannot--and the surgeon operates the arm on a computer instead of standing over the patient.

Robotic surgery is gaining popularity--although studies do not show conclusively that it is superior in every case. It certainly would be if the doctor had to walk down the hall instead of traveling thousands of miles to an unfamiliar team and facility.

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

I rarely look at my blog stats--a year ago, Google did something that ensured that they got my eyeballs but I did not get my share of the ad money.

The other day, though, I noticed you people are interested in mosquitoes, so I am going with a winner.

Heidi Mitchell, WSJ, July 16, 2013, said some people have dubbed the little whiners "mozzies." I like it!

As I said before, the mozzies like the CO2 your bod gives off--pregnant women and larger people often get the worst of their attentions.

They also like the smell of the flora and fauna on our skin. There is no science that says having diabetes or high cholesterol will keep mozzies at bay. Taking stuff to smell different--garlic pills, Vit B--also does not work.

Researchers can get used to being bitten--it doesn't bother them. People who are allergic get the big itches.

The itch comes from the bug's saliva (ew), which contains blood thinners (the better to suck) and an anesthetic (the better to suck without being smashed). The body recognizes this stuff as foreign and sends tons of antihistamines. Scratching just spreads all this.

So try not to claw at bites!

Dawn and dusk are mosquito time. If you are dining outside, set up a fan--they dislike moving air. Wash with antibacterial soap to smell less yummy.

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

My sister and I are creaking around with arthritis pain or (my case) swollen legs or (her case) back trouble. Not a day passes that we don't say, "Please, just one day without hurting."

She went the opiate route for a while--helped but not good. She is off that. I take 3 Tylenols each morning to get through the pet emptying and feeding period on stiff robot legs with burning knees.

The rest of the day, I oo and ahh. Chronic pain affects one in five people.

Jeanne Whalen, WSJ, July 30, 2013, said they are looking into people who feel no pain for possible routes to helping others.

Feeling no pain is also not good--you can get burned or walk on a broken ankle and injure yourself. In poorer countries, such anomalies work in the streets sometimes, stabbing themselves for tips, etc.

This is due to mutations in a gene numbered SCN9A.

Pfizer and some smaller cos are working om methods tied to this gene. Instead of reducing inflammation as ibuprofen and Celebrex do, or switching on the body's pain killers as opiates do, this new idea seeks to block the signals going to nerve cells. The key seems to be something called sodium channels.

They are testing on people with an opposite condition--one which produces scalding pain from even minor warming. They put a warm blanket on their legs and when the pain rachets up, give the drug.

No conclusions yet. But they are pretty sure addiction won't be a problem with this approach.

Monday, August 05, 2013

Eighty thousand kids a day miss school because of asthma--the worst time being at opening, when conditions are worse for this disease.

One kid reports that she always gets sick when school starts--so she is already falling behind.

According to Kirstin Carel, MD, a pediatric allergist at National Jewish Health in Denver, the kids come in stuffed in viruses, the Fall pollen hits, and also kids may have slacked off on their meds over the summer.

Triple whammy.

Kids should restart asthma meds two weeks before school, if they quit over the summer. You want to keep the inflammation down as much as possible.

Just as with school supplies, make asthma planning an annual ritual.

Make sure the meds are not expired.

Make an appt with the school nurse to be sure the medications are there and can be given.

Teach the kids good hygiene--handwashing and so on--to keep away infectious agents.

Friday, August 02, 2013

Word is, West Nile, carried by mosquitoes, has been found near where the president is vacationing on Martha's Vineyard.

The nerve!

Anyhow, this reminded me of some new anti-skeeter stuff out there. First, there is a patch, called KITE, that keeps the little screamers off for 48 hours. It was developed for people in developing countries where malaria, Dengue Fever, and West Nile are rife.

The KITE sticks on your clothes and blocks mosquitoes from zeroing in on the CO2 being emitted by your body. KITE is still awaiting EPA approval, but it does not place poisonous chemicals such as DEET on your body or in the air around you. Check out http://kitepatch.com

Available now are various clip-ons and bracelets emitting natural or chemical elements.

In a small study, the best performing were clip-ons with small, battery-operated fans. The Off Clip-On is about $9 and reduced the number of night-biting mosquitoes landing or biting by 97%. Terminix's All Clear SideKick diffuses botanicals such as geranium, lemon grass, and peppermint and cinnamon oils. This cut landing and biting by 94%.

The fan is better than the bracelet, which is better if you only want to protect your hands. A $5 BugBand stopped landing and biting on both hands by 57% in an urban area, and 52% in a rural area.

The fan dealies are better if you are sitting--it allows a plume of protection to build up.

These observations came from a story in the WSJ by Laura Johannes, July 23, 2013.

A plume of protection--is that like the Cone of Silence? Yes--from the infuriating eeee eeee eeee.

Thursday, August 01, 2013

How about a big dollop of dirty, chemical laced water right in your tender inner ear? It's called swimming on our planet.

Richard Rosenfeld, prof and chairman of otolaryngology at State Univ of NY's Downstate Medical Center, says 2.4 million Americans get this summer earache each year.

The symptoms are echoing, itching, or a clogged feeling in the ear. This is an inflammation of the skin in the ear canal due to water being trapped in there.

Twenty-percent of sufferers are in such pain, they need narcotics.

You usually get it from swimming, but can get it from showering or even sweating a lot. People with a lot of ear wax or eczema and those who wear hearing aids can be more prone.

If there is no pain--just annoying water caught in the inch-long canal--put about five drops of rubbing alcohol in the ear, using an eye dropper. (Don't do it if you have a hole in your eardrum or ear tubes.)

Or: Cup your ear with the palm of your hand and pump inward, while jumping on one leg with the offending ear toward the ground. This can create a pressure change and force the water out.

This doctor recommends doing something and not waiting it out. This can escalate. You can use prescription drops with an antibiotic or acetic acid and maybe a steroid. Or make your own drops of half isopropyl alcohol and vinegar.

Do not take a big whack of antibiotic pills! Most oral antibiotics don't kill the crud that causes swimmer's ear anyhow.

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About Me

I am a long-time freelance health and science reporter, screenwriter, and blogger. My work has appeared in venues from the Costco Connection to Washingtonian and WebMD. I also used to teach creativity at the Smithsonian.